SINGAPORE, 24 August - SINGAPORE and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has signed a protocol amending the Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation ("DTA").

Singapore's Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, signed the agreement with the UK's Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP.

This is the third agreement Singapore has signed that incorporates the new internationally agreed Standard for the exchange of information upon request for tax purposes, as part of the comprehensive re-negotiation of the Singapore-UK DTA.

A new article on exchange of information will enable tax investigators in the UK and Singapore to receive the fullest co-operation when pursuing enquiries with the other country.

Domestic information powers will now also be used to obtain information for treaty partners if there is no domestic tax interest in the information. The protocol therefore extends the provisions of the 1997 UK-Singapore Double Taxation Agreement.

Affirming the significance of this agreement, Financial Secretary Rt Hon. Stephen Timms MP said:

"Britain is the largest foreign investor in Singapore and 80% of Singapore's investments in the European Union go into the UK. So I warmly welcome Singapore's decision to adopt the OECD Standard for the Exchange of Information for tax purposes. Singapore's firm commitment to transparency and exchange of information is very encouraging, and I call on others to follow their example."

Notes for Editors

The full text of the protocol will be made available on the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's (IRAS) website at http://www.iras.gov.sg.

The protocol will enter into force after Singapore's legislative amendments to give effect to the internationally agreed Standard have been approved by Parliament and gazetted into law, and the ratification procedures have been completed by both countries.

Media contact:

Elisabeth Hamdouch
Economist, SE Asia Economics Team
British High Commission, Singapore
Tel: 6424 4240
Mobile: 9735 8425

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